The Fire Island Dance Festival 2026

Since 1995, a waterfront stage has gone up in the Pines for a weekend of world-premiere dance. This is the history of the festival, and what the 2026 program looks like.



Where it comes from

In 1991, two dancers with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Hernando Cortez and Denise Roberts Hurlin, organized a response to the AIDS epidemic. The result was Dancers Responding to AIDS, founded in New York City at a moment when the epidemic had cut through the dance world.

Cortez knew the Pines. He had spent summers there and built friendships in a community the epidemic was devastating. He met Rodger McFarlane following the 1991 Pride march. McFarlane connected DRA to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. DRA operates as a program of BC/EFA: its fundraising flows through grant programs that reach HIV/AIDS and family service organizations across all fifty states.

DRA also ran a traveling benefit series, Dancers from the Heart, that played the Pines. Jack Schlegel became co-producer in the early years.

The first Fire Island Dance Festival took place in 1995. It raised $7,939. The thirtieth anniversary, in 2025, raised $825,002. The cumulative total is now more than ten million dollars.

Broadway Cares makes an annual $25,000 grant to the Pines Care Center, providing access to essential medications and resources on the island. The festival that started as a response to the epidemic now directly funds health care in the community where it was born.

That is what the applause at the end of a performance is for.

The 2026 Lineup

The 2026 program brings world premieres and acclaimed company works to the waterfront stage, with Jeff Hiller, Emmy Award-winning actor and comedian known for HBO's Somebody Somewhere, hosting all three performances.

Complexions Contemporary Ballet performs their duet First Comes Love. Leggybones Physical Theater brings athletic and contemporary work to the outdoor stage. Miami City Ballet performs an excerpt from Alexei Ratmansky's Roses from the South: Three Waltzes for Toby, marking Ratmansky's festival debut.

Four world premieres are on the program. Chris Jarosz opens the weekend. Robbie Fairchild and Vincenzo DiPrimo premiere a pas de deux described by the organizer as "exploring the tortured beauty of something forbidden," with the full premiere following later this year at NYC Center's Fall for Dance. Ricky Ubeda brings what the organizer calls his "signature, zeitgeist-savvy sensibility." Jake Vincent contributes a world premiere the organizer describes as "sweeping physicality meets quiet intimacy."

New Chamber Ballet performs Mandragore. Smuin Ballet presents an excerpt from The Singer and the Song.



The Saturday 7pm performance, when the setting sun crosses the stage and the bay opens behind it, is the one people remember. Getting there early is not excessive.

How to attend the fire island festival 2026

The festival runs across two days. Saturday, July 18: Opening Performance at 5pm and Sunset Performance at 7pm. Sunday, July 19: Closing Performance at 5pm.

Tickets are at dradance.org/fidance. Three performances, three direct links: the Opening Performance on Saturday at 5pm, the Sunset Performance on Saturday at 7pm, and the Closing Performance on Sunday at 5pm. An $85 ticket block is available for the Opening and Closing performances.



The stage is at 236 Beach Hill Walk in the Pines. The ferry runs from Sayville. The venue fills fast on festival weekend.

Since 1995. More than ten million dollars raised for HIV/AIDS services across the country. A stage on the waterfront of a car-free island, built for a weekend and taken down when it ends. The 2026 festival is July 18 and 19. Tickets are at dradance.org/fidance.